Testimonials

Simply said: “A Godsend”.

After struggling for years with a child that has been out of our control, we have finally found a place where we are heard, understood, and nurtured by others who know exactly what we are experiencing.  Safe Harbor is a life changing opportunity that has enriched our lives beyond measure.

– Jennifer L. 2019

Safe Harbor has really been a “safe haven” where we’ve been able to share our family’s “brokenness” with other families with similar challenges. Our family has attended sessions over the last 12 weeks or more and the Godly counsel from the varied speakers has been priceless. Group dynamics have not only greatly impacted our lives but others also. We’ve experienced and seen the Holy Spirit move in the participant’s lives and choices as it pertains to the gospel. The mentors there that meet with the teens have heartfelt compassion for each and every one of the teens and allow the Holy Spirit to assist them in providing guidance to them.

Prior to coming to Safe Harbor, attempts were made to reach out to former church leaders for counsel and guidance. But with resistance due to maybe a lack of knowledge as it pertains to different addictions and teen related issues and/or just resistance to the transparency of these issues, the church failed to meet our needs. Our family is greatly appreciative and has come to love the leaders and all the families associated with Safe Harbor. We honor and thank God that we’re able to “serve” in this capacity!

Sincerely,
– Herbert and Tanya G.

We came to Safe Harbor feeling lost and in need of help.  Our 17-year-old son had for the previous year been “acting out”.  He was flunking all his classes, due to incomplete assignments, sneaking out via organized meet ups with a group called “Night Shift” on Snap Chat, getting caught by the police, drinking, vaping, punching a car, punching his best friend, totaling one car, less than a year later wrecking another, defiant, angry, divisive.  My husband and I were at wits end, broken, fighting.  We had cancelled his cell phone plan, taken away his cell phone, access to a car, taken away his bedroom door, his video games, time with friends, money…all gone.  We made him get a job to cover repairs to the car he punched, pay us for car repairs, car insurance and he just got angrier.  I feared for my safety.  I told him if he ever hit me, he would need to call the ambulance and explain to them why he hit his 52-year-old mother.  To find a therapist, I turned to my company’s EAP.  I admitted to an online therapist that I feared for my safety, and she then turned us into DHR for investigation.  My home had to be evaluated, parenting skills, lifestyle, the list goes on. Individual counseling, drug therapy, family therapy, and all day testing, …the bills were beginning to rack up, the hours away from work were also beginning to rack up.  My attitude at the office was severely affected by my failing family and lack of sleep.  His sister was away at college but found a visit home to be racked with turmoil.  She apologized on one such visit for just coming to the realization that things had gotten so bad.  But her reaction was to come home for visits less and less.

A few days before I called Safe Harbor, I had my first panic attack as a grown woman, driving down the highway, I had to figure out how to get off the road safely.  Serendipitously, my therapist called me while I was having the attack and calmed me down.  She had prior experience with Safe Harbor and recommended that I call Sean.  He was a very reassuring voice at the end of the line, telling me that he could help us, but I had to show up and commit to continuing to show up.

My husband and I attended the first night with our son.  For night one we expected a three-hour meeting that included new parent orientation.  After an hour, my son let us know he had to leave because he had a test the next day.  I let him know that his failing grades indicated to me that he cared little about tests, and I couldn’t see how this one was any different.  We stayed for the full meeting.  My son slowly connected with the mentors, John especially, who gave my son the courage to consider doing some of his own car maintenance which included oil change, spark plug and packing replacement, brake pad replacement.  His own self-worth began to rise; his grades began to rise.  Safe Harbor instructed us on how to form a Home Contract.  We actually formed three, one not restrictive enough, one too long and one just right.  It took work to get it right, a lot of work.  I as his mother had to quit engaging in the fights.  I had to use tools given to me by my therapist to just not engage when prompted because he knew all the mean things to say to get me to engage. I remember his last fight as he sat in the back seat of my car trying so hard to get me angry.  I let him go on for a while, finally confident in my ability to “let it go” and turning to him at some point in the trip and asking him “are you done yet”.  He quit.  We quit.

Safe Harbor has given me confidence to parent my second child a different way from the first, but it has also made me a better mother to my first child, the overachiever, the self-motivated, the valedictorian, the Merit Scholar, the one granted “a full ride”, but also the anxiety ridden and self-doubting child.  I have learned to better parent her even as she navigates the line between childing and adulting.

My son has managed in his senior year to graduate from high school with a 3.5 for his senior year.  He has been accepted into junior college and along the way developed a passion for welding, the outdoors, working hard, and personal fitness.  We are proud to see him making such positive choices regarding himself and his future.

My husband and I are also better for the program.  The video lessons and the books offered, helped us to grow to be better people, parents, workers and children of God.  We feel stronger every day for Sean Hannon and his team of mentors and the program of Safe Harbor.

– Sabrina and Richard

Safe Harbor has been such a blessing for me and my family. Back in March, we decided to get help for my 15-year-old niece who was struggling in school and it was getting worse as her mother’s declining health was not allowing her to be mobile. We wanted to help and I naively thought that since we had a larger family, it would be easy to add in one more. I wrongly assumed parenting would be less challenging since she was older than our kids. We tried parenting her from our experience of raising our children who ranged from 13-3 for the first few months. After lots of trial and error we knew we were not equipped for what she needed just because we had been successfully raising our own younger children.

We thought parenting her would come naturally, but soon realized that if we wanted this to work, we were going to need a lot of help from professionals. We put our niece into counseling and that helped her slightly, but that is a gradual process. We also couldn’t be certain that the topics they covered were addressing our problems and concerns with her attitude and lack of respect. One day I walked into the high school office to pick my niece up for a doctor’s appointment and saw the Safe Harbor pamphlet and immediately grabbed one. I called the same day and spoke to Sean about the program and felt an immediate sense of relief because we finally had a plan.

I know it may seem like the program is for teens experimenting with drugs or alcohol at first, but really the program is beneficial for any teen who struggles with adapting to the requirements and expectations the adults in their lives have. The program also gives parents a set of instructions and boundaries to help reassert the authority and respect that they need. We tried to make rules on our own to encourage her to do the right things, but that didn’t work or make her want to change for her own good. We realize that the core focus of this program sets up a foundation that allows the teen to decide for themselves what type of future they will have. We wanted a sense of normalcy again and the Safe Harbor system is clear and effective so we were able get back on track quickly anytime we had an obstacle arise.

Safe Harbor is the only program that has given us the tools we need to have a smooth routine and give appropriate consequences when needed. There were times that I didn’t know if we would be able to make it work, but every meeting we attended we had our hope restored. Safe Harbor has not only helped my teen to become the best version of herself, but it helped me and my husband also see where we can improve so that we can all be the best versions of ourselves each day.

We are eternally grateful for this program and we will never forget what each person involved with the Safe Harbor program did for us. Safe Harbor is an answer to the prayers of many parents, and I will be sure to tell as many people as I can who may benefit from it.

– Alyssa & Matt C.

The experience at Safe Harbor changed my life forever and saved my daughter’s life.

Before attending Safe Harbor my life was disastrous and I had no idea what to do. I had been searching for an answer for a long time waiting for God to direct me. When the time was exactly right, I was impressed to join the group.
The first night , God spoke to me through the wonderful people there and set my life and my daughter’s life in a different direction.
Thank you, Lord and Safe Harbor, for placing this sweet and supportive group in our lives.

– Patsy F.

Just over 6 years ago I got in trouble that amounted to more than I ever imagined I would be in. I let a lot of people down with poor decisions and greatly affected many of the things I would want to do later in life. Juvenile Court Judge Kramer requested that I attend a program with my parents called The Safe Harbor. The things I learned at The Safe Harbor were literally life changing. Every day I see kids my age I’ve known since elementary being posted on the news and social media for car wrecks involving drugs, running from the cops, possession of drugs, or dead and I think to myself where did our paths separate, why did that happen to them but not me? Why are things so different for me? Safe Harbor.

The Safe Harbor was the turning point for me, I’m so grateful for what they did, helping me become a responsible young adult, that I’m now a youth mentor for them and have been for over a year. I greatly suggest that if you or someone you know needs help in their family, share this page with them, it could save a life.

– Dale D